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The Circle Game
Joni Mitchell
Capo 4
Intro: / G/B - Am7 / G/B - Am7 / G/B - Am7 /
/ G - C/G - / G - - - /
G C G (2)
Yesterday a child came out to wonder
G C D7 (2)
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
G C Bm (2)
Fearful when the sky is full of thunder
C Am7 (1/2) G (1/2) C/G (1/2) G
And tearful at the falling of a star.
Chorus:
G Am7 (1/2) G (1/2)
And the seasons, they go 'round and 'round
G Am7 (1/2) G (1/2)
And the painted ponies go up and down
C (2) G (2)
We're captive on the carousel of time
C (2)
We can't return, we can only look
Bm C
behind from where we came
G Am7 (1/2)
And go 'round and 'round and 'round in the circle
G (1/2) C/G (1/2) G
game
G C G (2)
Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
G C D7 (2)
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
G C Bm (2)
Words like "when you're older" must appease him
C Am7 (1/2) G (1/2) C/G (1/2) G
And promises of someday make his dreams
Chorus
G C G (2)
Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
G C D7 (2)
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
G C Bm (2)
And they tell him, "Take your time, it won't be long now
C Am7 (1/2) G (1/2) C/G (1/2) G
'Til you drag your feet to slow the circle down"
Chorus
G C G (2)
So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
G C D7 (2)
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
G C Bm (2)
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams, and plenty
C Am7 (1/2) G (1/2) C/G (1/2) G
Before the last revolving year is through
Chorus
G Am7
And go 'round and 'round and 'round in the circle
G (1/2) C/G (1/2) G (1/2) C/G (1/2)
game
End on last G
This file is the author's own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It's intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
